December 2025 | Released January 27, 2026

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United States

Employment snapshot

• In December, among the 50 states and the District of Columbia unemployment fell in 8, rose in 21, and remained unchanged in 22.

• The highest unemployment rate was 6.7 percent in District of Columbia, and the lowest was 2.2 percent in Hawaii and South Dakota. Nationally, the unemployment rate fell by 0.1 percentage point to 4.4 percent.

• In December, payroll jobs rose in 23 states and fell in 27. The largest payroll job percent increase was 0.4 percent in Delaware and Montana. The largest payroll job percent decline was 0.3 percent in Kansas and Nebraska.

New Jersey

Employment snapshot

• In December, New Jersey added 5,700 net payroll jobs and the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.4 percent. In the prior month, New Jersey lost 1,200 net payroll jobs.

• Over the past 12 months, New Jersey added 9,000 net payroll jobs and the unemployment rate rose by 0.8 percentage points from 4.6 percent.

• Nationally, nonfarm payrolls rose by 50,000 in December, or 0 percent. New Jersey is tied for 29th in the nation for percentage gain in nonfarm payroll employment over the past 12 months.

• In December, New Jersey’s private sector added 5,300 net private payroll jobs, and over the past 12 months it added 9,200 private payroll jobs. In the prior month, New Jersey remained unchanged with 0 net private payroll jobs.

• In December, employment in New Jersey rose by 6,847, and over the past 12 months it fell by 28,943.

• New Jersey’s labor force participation rate remained steady at 63.7 percent in December and ranks 22nd in the nation. In the past 12 months, the labor force participation rate has fallen by 0.4 percentage points.

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New Jersey

Payroll employment

• New Jersey added 5,700 net payroll jobs, or 0.1 percent, on a seasonally adjusted basis during December. In the prior month, New Jersey lost 1,200 jobs. New Jersey nonfarm payroll employment has increased in 6 of the past 12 months.

• Nationally, nonfarm payrolls rose by 50,000 in December, or 0 percent. New Jersey is tied for 29th in the nation for percentage gain in nonfarm payroll employment over the past 12 months.

• New Jersey added 5,300 private sector jobs, or 0.1 percent, on a seasonally adjusted basis during December. In the prior month, New Jersey remained unchanged with 0 jobs. New Jersey private sector payroll employment has increased in 7 of the past 12 months.

• Nationally, private sector payroll jobs rose by 37,000 jobs in December, or 0 percent. New Jersey ranks 32nd in the nation for percentage gain in private sector payroll employment over the past 12 months.

From November 2025 to December 2025:

• The best performing sectors were Leisure and Hospitality (+3,000) and Private Education and Health Services (+2,800).
• The worst performing sectors were Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (-3,200) and Manufacturing (-500).

From December 2024 to December 2025:

• The best performing sectors were Private Education and Health Services (+28,400) and Professional and Business Services (+8,900).
• The worst performing sectors were Construction (-10,200) and Trade, Transportation, and Utilities (-9,800).

New Jersey

Labor force

The labor force participation rate is the percentage of the civilian noninstitutionalized population age 16 and older who are employed or actively looking for work.

• The labor force participation rate in New Jersey remained unchanged at 63.7 percent in December.

• New Jersey ranks 22nd in the nation.

• The 10-year high for the labor force participation rate in New Jersey was 65 percent occurring in April 2023, and the 10-year low was 60.7 percent in April 2020.

• The national labor force participation rate fell by 0.1 percentage points to 62.4 percent in December.